Zeolites titanium framework

A number of heterogeneous systems have been developed for oxidation reactions using H2O2 as oxygen source . In 1981, Taramasso, Notari and collaborators at Enichem opened new perspectives in this field with the discovery of the Ti-silicalite (TS-1) ° , a new synthetic zeolite of the ZSM family. In the TS-1 zeolite, titanium atoms are located in vicariant positions in the place of Si atoms in the crystalline framework . The remarkable reactivity of TS-1 is likely ascribable to the site-isolation of tetrahedral Ti(IV) in a hydrophobic environment. TS-1 has proved to be an efficient catalyst for the epoxidation of unfunctionalized short-chain olefins, especially terminal ones (equation 28). In addition, polyunsaturated compounds are mainly converted into the mono epoxides (equation 29). 

In the present study, highly dispersed titanium oxides included within the zeolite cavities (Ti-oxide/Y-zeolite) and framework (Ti-MCM-41,-48) were prepared using an ion-exchange method and hydrothermal synthesis to be used as photocatalysts for the reduction of CO2 with H2O at 328 K. The characterization of these catalysts by means of in situ photoluminescence, diffuse reflectance absorption, XAFS (XANES and FT-EXAFS), and ESR measurements have been carried out and special attention has been focused on the relationship between the structure of the titanium oxide species and the reaction selectivity in the photocatalytic reduction of CO2 with H2O to form CH3OH. 

Recently Creyghton et al. [6,7] reported the use of zeolite beta in the MPVO reduction of 4-t-butylcyclohexanone. ITie high selectivity towards the thermodynamically less favoured ds-alcohol is explained by a restricted transition-state around a Lewis-acidic aluminium in the zeolite pores. When using an aluminium-free zeolite, titanium beta, in the epoxidation of olefins, we have shown that Ti-beta has acidic properties when alcoholic solvents were employed [8], This was ascribed to the Lewis-acidic character of titanium in the zeolite framework. As we reported very recently [9], Ti-beta is found to be an excellent catalyst in MPVO reactions with a tolerance for water. Here, results are presented on the high selectivity, stability and low by-product formation of the catalyst, Ti-beta, in both the liquid-phase and gas-phase MPVO reactions. 

A second approach to isolating redox metal ions in stable inorganic matrices, thereby creating oxidation catalysts with interesting activities and selectivities, is to incorporate them in a zeolite lattice framework. The first example of such a redox zeolite was the synthetic titanium(IV) zeolite, titanium siliealite (TS-1), developed by Enichem [30-32]. TS-1 was shown to catalyze a variety of synthetically useful oxidations with 30% H202, such as olefin epoxidation, oxidation of primary alcohols to aldehydes, aromatic hydroxylation, and ammoxi-mation of cyclohexanone to cyclohexanone oxime (see Fig. 9). 

One of the exciting results to come out of heterogeneous catalysis research since the early 1980s is the discovery and development of catalysts that employ hydrogen peroxide to selectively oxidize organic compounds at low temperatures in the liquid phase. These catalysts are based on titanium, and the important discovery was a way to isolate titanium in framework locations of the inner cavities of zeolites (molecular sieves). Thus, mild oxidations may be run in water or water-soluble solvents. Practicing organic chemists now have a way to catalytically oxidize benzene to phenols alkanes to alcohols and ketones primary alcohols to aldehydes, acids, esters, and acetals secondary alcohols to ketones primary amines to oximes secondary amines to hydroxyl-amines and tertiary amines to amine oxides. 

Since the initial discovery, much work has gone into improving the catalyst. The original zeolite contained small pores that limited oxidations to relatively small molecules with shapes that allowed them to move in and out of that pore system. One modification has been to isolate titanium in zeolites with larger pores so larger molecules can be oxidized. Another modification has been to incorporate other metal ions into the frameworks of different zeolites with... 

The 1980s saw major developments in secondary synthesis and modification chemistry of zeolites. SUicon-enriched frameworks of over a dozen zeolites were described using methods of (i) thermochemical modification (prolonged steaming) with or without subsequent acid extraction, (ii) mild aqueous ammonium fluorosilicate chemistry, (iii) high-temperature treatment with silicon tetrachloride and (iv) low-temperature treatment with fluorine gas. Similarly, framework metal substitution using mild aqueous ammonium fluorometaUate chemistry was reported to incorporate iron, titanium, chromium and tin into zeolite frameworks by secondary synthesis techniques. 

Following the discovery of TS-1 [125], a titanium-substituted MFl, the use of zeolitic materials for oxidation increased significantly. The presence of the Ti atom in the framework of a zeolite structure provides a site-isolated Ti center, a situation not possible with other Ti-containing materials while also allowing shape-selective oxidations. The combination of the two effects gives highly active and selective oxidation reactions [126]. 

Titanium in the framework of pentasil zeolites induces oxygenation activity with diluted hydrogen peroxide as oxidant, thus constituting a new catalytic system. 

The addition of sodium during the synthesis of TS-1 completely eliminates the activity for n-octane oxidation and also the IR band at 960 cm- (this IR band is present in the amorphous precursor, Ti02-Si02). It has been shown (12) that the presence of sodium in itie synthesis gel prevents the incorporation of titanium into the zeolite framework. However, the addition of sodium ter the zeolite crystallizes does not... 

Since the first synthesis of TS-1 in 1983 [1], considerable efforts have been devoted to the synthesis of titanium-containing zeolites [2, 3]. Recently, Ti-beta, a large-pore molecular sieve, has been extensively studied [4, 5]. Owing to its unique large-pore channel system, Ti-beta seems to be more active than the medium-pore TS-1 catalyst for the oxidation of cyclic and branched alkenes with aqueous hydrogen peroxide. Under the usual synthesis conditions, however, Ti-beta crystallizes with some Al as a framework constituent [4], This leads to the presence of acid centers, which may have a detrimental effect on the activity or selectivity of this type of catalyst. Since 1992, the discovery of a new family of mesoporous molecular sieves has received much attention [6,7], Because of their mesoporous nature (20-100A), the Ti-MCM-41 zeolites may be useful as oxidation catalysts for larger molecules [8], In this... 

For pure Si-MCM-41. this band has been assigned to the Si-O stretching vibrations and the presence of this band in the pure siliceous is due to the great amount of silanol groups present. A characteristic absorption band at about 970 cm 1 has been observed in all the framework IR spectra of titanium-silicalites. It was also reported that the intensity of 970 cm 1 band increased as a function of titanium in the lattice[17] and this absorption band is attributed to an asymmetric stretching mode of tetrahetral Si-O-Ti linkages [18] in the zeolitic framework. The increase in intensity of this peak with the Ti content has been taken as a proof of incorporation of titanium into the framework. 

The maximum content of titanium in Ti-beta zeolite appears to be higher than in the other materials. A value of x = 0.038 has been reported without formation of extra-framework Ti02. From the characterization of Ti-beta zeolite by XANES and EXAFS, it has been concluded that Tilv in the calcined material is tetrahedrally coordinated, isolated from other TiIV ions, and surrounded by OSi groups. In the presence of H20, Tilv increases its coordination and very likely undergoes hydrolysis of the Ti—O—Si bonds forming TiOH and SiOH groups (Blasco et al., 1993). 

The synthesis of these titanium-substituted zeolites has been described to occur by a secondary synthesis process involving the reaction of [NH4]2TiF6 with the preformed corresponding zeolite (Section IV.G). The chemical and physicochemical properties described are not sufficient to establish the presence of Tiiv ions in framework positions. The titanium concentrations reported are much higher than the maximum values observed in titanium silicates for which isomorphous substitution has been demonstrated. The possible presence of Ti02 particles has not been investigated. No indication of the properties of these materials as catalysts in reactions typical of titanium silicates has been provided. It is therefore very doubtful that real isomorphous substitution has been obtained (Skeels et al., 1989 Skeels, 1993). 

A different approach to the substitution of metal atoms into the framework is the secondary synthesis or post-synthesis method. This is particularly effective in synthesizing metallosilicates that are difficult to crystallize from the gels containing other metal atoms or hardly incorporate metal atoms by the direct synthesis method. Substitution of Ti for A1 goes back to the 1980s. The reaction of zeolites with an aqueous solution of ammonium fluoride salts ofTi or Fe under relatively mild conditions yields materials that are dealuminated and contain substantial amounts of either iron or titanium and are essentially free of defects [58]. However, no sufficient evidence for the Ti incorporation has been provided. 

The effect of zeolite porosity on the reaction rate was also well demonstrated in liquid-phase oxidation over titanium-containing molecular sieves. Indeed, the remarkable activity in many oxidations with aqueous H2O2 of titanium silicalite (TS-1) discovered by Enichem is claimed to be due to isolation of Ti(IV) active sites in the hydrophobic micropores of silicalite.[42,47,68 69] The hydrophobicity of this molecular sieve allows for the simultaneous adsorption within the micropores of both the hydrophobic substrate and the hydrophilic oxidant. The positive role of hydrophobicity in these oxidations, first demonstrated with titanium microporous glasses,[70] has been confirmed later with a series of titanium silicalites differing by their titanium content or their synthesis procedure.[71] The hydrophobicity index determined by the competitive adsorption of water and n-octane was shown to decrease linearly with the titanium content of the molecular sieve, hence with the content in polar Si-O-Ti bridges in the framework for Si/Al > 40.[71] This index can be correlated with the activity of the TS-1 samples in phenol hydroxylation with aqueous H2C>2.[71] The specific activity of Ti sites of Ti/Al-MOR[72] and BEA[73] molecular sieves in arene hydroxylation and olefin epoxidation, respectively, was also found to increase significantly with the Si/Al ratio and hence with the hydrophobicity of the framework. 

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